Co mpanion Modeling for collective learning on land & water manage ment in
Northern Thailand Highlands
Resource manage ment context
•Ethnic minorities in the highlands have long been considered responsible for environmental degradation of ecologically fragile head watersheds.
•Their access to farm land and forest resources, and their participation in decision making about resource use is highly limited.
Research questions
•How to promote the emergence of ecologically viable and socially equitable concerted renewable resource managem ent in such com plex and uncertain socio-ecological systems?
•Com Mod has been tested in the village of Mae Salaep since 2002 (fig.1).
Results of the third Co m m od cycle : a collective learning process
•The RP G is a simplified version of the M A S model. It allows stakeholders to understand and criticize researchers’representations of the system. It also triggers discussions among them.
•Besides collective debates, individual interviews allow to elucidate the participants' behavior during gaming sessions, to record their opinions on the outcomes of collective discussions, to validate the model, and to assess the effects of the learning process.
•As discussions and identification of solutions raise new questions, the ga me and the MAS model were adjusted to fit the changing focus in three successive Co m mod cycles.
Lessons and perspectives
•Much attention should be paid to conflicting interests and unequal influence among stakeholders when m ediating the negotiation.
Barnaud C. 1,3, Pro m buro m T. 2, Bousquet F.3, Pro mburo m P. 2 and G. Trebuil.
(1) Department of Geography, Paris X-Nanterre University, France; (2) Multiple Cropping Center, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Thailand; (3) GREE N (Manage ment of renewable resources and the environ ment) research unit, Cirad, France & CU-Cirad Co m m od Project, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.
Co m panion modeling for collective learning in Mae Salaep
M ae Salaep study site and initial land degradation issue •In this Akha village, the former swiddening system is replaced by a semi-perm anent cash cropping-based agriculture following 25 years of integration into the market econo my. •The increased risk of soil erosion perceived by lowlanders threatens highlanders with further restrictions on their access to land.
•The first Co m M od cycle focused on the agro-ecological aspects of soil erosion. Participants identified the expansion of perennial crops as a promising solution, and requested to focus on socio-econo mic aspects related to their adoption (fig. 2).
•Companion Modeling (Co m Mod) is an interdisciplinary approach combining individual interviews, group debates, role-playing games (RP G) and multi-agent systems (MAS) to stimulate collective learning for adaptive m anage ment of renewable resources (http://com mod.org).
•The current policy of decentralization is an opportunity to better acco m modate multiple interests at various levels of organization.
•There is a need to set up a continuous monitoring-evaluation of the effects of the collective learning and negotiation processes stimulated by Co m mod (changes in perceptions, decision-making, practices, etc.).
Fig. 1. Main steps of Co m mod cycles implemented in Mae Salaep, northern Thailand.
Authors and institutions
Awareness of a proble m to be solved collectively
Exchanges of perspectives on the proble m
Identification and negotiation of solutions
Exploration of scenarios •The first gaming session highlighted current conflicts due to the “first arrived first served” rule: after installing their water pipes, players did not allow others to get water from the upstream section (fig. 3). •As in reality, only a minority of well-off farmers had access to water in the RP G.
•Participants suggested to build sm all weirs on streams and to share water in groups of households. Players located above the stream did not agree but “had to accept”this proposition.
Ne w Co m M od cycle on new e merging question (2004, 2005) On-farm surveys on problem Conceptual m odeling of observed dyna mics Adjustment of m odel to local stakeholders ’ perspectives Participatory Simulations (1) to assess scenarios Role-playing ga me (RP G) to exchange points of view First Co m M od cycle initiated by researchers (2002)
(1) Simulations with RPG and/or Multi-Agent Systems Modelling Confrontation to situation in the field
Evolution of the focus of discussions along the learning process
•In the third cycle, farmers requested the participation of the tambon (sub-district) administration organization (TAO) and to focus on the water manage ment issue. The expansion of gravity irrigated lychee & tea plantations creates water conflicts among villagers and the TA O could fund new water infrastructures.
•A family of models was gradually produced, each model integrating key relevant dyna mics to support discussions among stakeholders at a given stage of the evolving learning process.
•The second cycle stimulated exchanges on the problem of unequal access to credit and perennial crops. Farmers suggested changes in the rules for credit allocation of the government fund, but could not enforce them as rules are decided at a higher institutional level.
The non-threatening playful mode of interaction facilitated discussions on this conflict situation.
•Players could assess the effects of suggested solutions through experimental learning.
•MAS-mediated participatory simulations triggered lively discussions about rules for water allocation and their effects on different beneficiaries (fig. 4).
•The discussion between the villagers and the TA O President did not generate a genuine bottom-up dialogue. Institutional analysis and an initial agree ment with local organizations on Co m m od objectives & process could help to improve the dialogue with higher institutional levels of organization.
Fig. 4. Changes in gross agricultural incomes of four households during simulations according to two sets of water allocation rules negotiated a mong a group of beneficiaries of a small weir. Rule 1: the amount of water provided is
proportional to the size of irrigated plantation.
Rule 2: the same amount of water is provided to every farmer in the group.
•How to enable farming com munities to identify adapted and agreed-upon solutions, and to negotiate their projects with official institutions at a higher level of organization?
Land degradation Price fluctuations Adoption of perennial crops Off-farm activities Access to credit Slope Cropping system Rainfall Access to water to irrigate plantations Allocation rules
Plot location Rainfall W ater
infrastructures
Dialogue with sub-district ad ministration
C Y CLE 1 C Y CLE 2 C Y CLE 3
Fig. 2. Changes in the key interactions analysed along the successive Co m mod cycles
B2 B1 B3 C1 C2 player fields W ater pipe C3
Fig. 3. Ga ming board (detail).
•Participants underlined the usefulness of a platform for a collective search of solutions in the village.
C O R M A S interface, http://cormas.cirad.fr
A village representative presents a project to the TAO President.
